1921 – 2010
D.C. Lau (Lau Din Cheuk, 1921–2010) was a Hong Kong-born scholar of Chinese philosophy who taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and later at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is best known for his authoritative English translations of classical Confucian and Daoist texts, which became standard references for Western scholarship on Chinese thought, and for his interpretive work on Mencius' theory of human nature.
Produced landmark English translations of the Analects, Mencius, and Tao Te Ching
Offered influential analysis of Mencius' theory of human nature, including the water-metaphor passage (6A:2)
Contributed to scholarly debate on the relationship between Mencius and Xunzi's rival accounts of xing (nature)
Bridged Western analytic textual methods with classical Chinese philosophical scholarship